Lesson Learned
by westwingwolf
Summary: Lex believes it's time for Chloe to learn an important lesson on whom she can trust. Spoilers through season 7.


Disclaimer: I own nothing

AN: I had most of this completed before the season 8 premiere and it's pretty much what I wish had happened.

He watched the monitor as she sat huddled in her corner. He missed the first few weeks of her stay and only time would tell if that was going to make or break his plans for her.

Before he left for the arctic, he made plans to have her sent to a secure location where Clark would never find her. Within a few months time, he started phase one. A copy of the Daily Planet was slipped into her cell along with her lunch meal.

Chloe didn't touch it at first, probably thinking there was some kind of trap. She'd be right but it wasn't a conventional one. She must have realized by now that this was no ordinary prison sentence.

As expected, her curiosity got the better of her. She searched the paper, looking for some clue. She wouldn't find one. Nothing of importance was in that paper. Nothing but the name on a byline.

Her reaction wasn't what he expected. She didn't ball up the paper or rip it to shreds. Instead, she carefully placed in on her floor. Then she painstakingly tore the article from it's page. He didn't know what she wanted until she held it up to the wall. The next day, along with a new paper, was a roll of masking tape.

Within months, her wall collection was filled with articles from Lois, Clark and even some from both. He knew now was the appropriate time to add some artwork to the wall.

The photos of Jimmy with his new girlfriend weren't that hard to get. The boy had moved on to a young intern shortly after Chloe had been sent away. Apparently, their 'spark' couldn't withstand Chloe being locked up in solitary confinement. If that wasn't bad enough, the portable DVD player with a disc containing security footage of his last two meetings with the joke of a boyfriend shredded any semblance of a relationship. To think that the guy who had proposed to her was knowingly severing ties with the only person he knew could protect her.

He knew Chloe well enough to know that she valued loyalty over integrity. This whole mess had started because of her need to help Clark. It truly broke his heart to know no one considered the same for her.

Certainly, Clark had tried. But even with all his efforts Clark couldn't find her. Lex had made sure of that. Sad irony in that the only person who could find who Clark was looking for was in fact that very same person who was lost. And in the end Clark must have convinced himself that even if he could save her, Chloe wouldn't want him to risk exposure to do so.

Without a doubt, if the situation was reversed, Chloe would have done it anyway. And so would Lex.

However, the photos of Lois and Clark were the ones that started the reaction that he'd been waiting for. They were far more innocent then the ones Jimmy. But all the more heartbreaking. A meeting for coffee in the morning. A beer at the Ace of Clubs after work. Clark's gentlemanly need to walk Lois home.

Her entire cell was covered in photos, in article clippings, and every night he would listen to the sounds of her crying herself to sleep.

After almost a year in confinement, the final piece of the puzzle had arrived. If in the future, if Chloe ever asked how much of this he had manipulated, he could truthfully say none. Yes, he kept her from her friends and family, but she was serving time that she still would have served elsewhere without his interference. Time due to one friend who pushed her to break the law, time that could have been avoided if her boyfriend had been willing to take a risk. He was merely reaping the benefits of what others had done to her.

And he had no control over what others would do while she was away, but their behavior could be predicted as easy the sun's next rise. They were the problem. They ignored her until she was needed. They forgot her when she was gone. He was the only one who knew her potential. Knew that with just a little push she could fulfill her destiny.

When the last photo arrived, she calmly taped it in the center of her collage. He watched as she sat back against the opposite wall and just stared at the photo of her greatest crush kissing her cousin. For hours she stared at that photo. And he patiently waited for her reaction.

After hours of nothing, she suddenly stood up and ripped the papers from the walls. As quickly as a tornado, the cell was destroyed and Chloe stood in the middle. Along with the anger in her eyes, he detected a greater need. One for destruction. She was now ready to leave her cell.

He stood in front of the cell door as it opened. They stared at each other conveying everything in one vital word each.

"Chloe."

"Lex."

And with that, he was no longer her captor, she acknowledged him as her teacher and now they were partners.

The End


End file.
